Thursday, April 3, 2014

What’s the Secret to Nailing the Interview Q&A?

by David
Whitemyer, AIA

What’s the secret to nailing the
questions during a project interview? Easy, ask your own questions.

A few months
ago a few colleagues and I were in Arkansas interviewing for a fairly large (at
least by our standards) project. We were among the two shortlisted firms who
had been invited to meet the selection committee.

The firm we
were competing with was an established organization, nearly 50 years old, with
numerous projects overseas, shelves of national accolades and awards, and dozens
of employees. Our firm was just two years old, very small, and had only a few
projects under the belt of the company name.

Our strength
at the interview was in knowing that we were long shots. In putting together
our slide presentation, and knowing that there would be time for Q&A at the
end, we decided to include pre-prepared questions in our presentation. We began
the Q&A period by saying to the selection committee, “If we were you, these
are the question we would be asking us.”

We focused
the questions on our appeared inefficiencies and youth, and the clear fact that
we were not the safe choice; and we turned them into strong positives. It paid
off, and we were unanimously selected for the project.

Try it
during your next interview. Here is a list of some suggested questions to
include in your presentation (in no particular order), written as read by the
interviewers.

1. Specifically, why
should we pick your firm instead of the other(s)?

2. Do you have any
inefficiency associated with performing our project? And if so, how will you
overcome it?

3. Why, personally,
are you interested in our project, other than just wanting the work?

4. What challenges do
you foresee in our project? What worries you most about it?

5. Is our schedule
realistic? If not, how do you recommend that we change it?

6. Will we be dealing
with the team here today for the life of the project?

Prepare your
responses, but don’t create a script for them. You want the Q&A to be
honest, candid, and conversational. Not all of these will be applicable to your
situation, but you’ll get the idea. Tailor them for your own unique culture,
projects, and firm structure.

David Whitemyer, AIA, is a Contributing Editor at
PSMJ Resources, Inc., a licensed architect, and project manager at a
Boston-area design firm. He can be reached atdwhitemyer@psmj.com